Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters included in this story (which is basically only Sango, Miroku, and Naraku so far), but I do own all of my original characters (i.e. Kyoden, Miroku's mom and dad, Sango's dad, Tomomi, Scarlet, and Ginmaru)

Author's Note: GOMEN! (Sorry) I really didn't mean for this to take so long. In fact, I have it all written up for the longest time, I just never felt like/ got the chance to update it. But now I am! Yay! Happiness all around!

Anyhoot, we have yet another original character appearing in this chapter, one that has quickly become a personal favorite (yet no one can replace Scarlet's place in my heart). This chapter is a bit messy as far as grammar (I haven't checked it, I'm sorry! It's too much work for me now!!) but I really like the message of it. I'm sorry for the grotesque scenes; I used as little imagery as possible while trying to make sure it was still comprehendible.

Enough ranting. Time for the chapter!

Translations:

Chiksou (chick-soh): Shit

Ginmaru (gin-mah-roo strong 'g' sound): I thought it would be fun to translate this for you. 'Gin' is the Japanese word for silver, and 'maru' is a common ending for boys' names in Japan. Haha, I have a lot of color-oriented names. :-)

Ursai (oor-sigh): Shut up

Yare yare (yah-reh yah-reh): Well, well

Chapter 9, What Bloodshed Brings

By afternoon, storm clouds were settling in, blanketing the sky in thick layer of gray swirling mass. On the ground, the day had turned gloomy with a strong wind. Together, Sango and Miroku trudged down the road, Miroku watching the worsening weather carefully.

"Sango," he said at length. "I think there's going to be a snowstorm."

Sango looked up at him as if he were the biggest idiot in the whole world. "You think?" she said smartly.

"We should seek shelter from the blizzard soon," Miroku continued, his worry unfazed.

"No, we should keep going," Sango argued. "There's a village just north of here."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Miroku said. "It looks like the sky is ready to explode with snow any minute."

"And it would be better to wait it out in a comfortable village. Or would you rather spend it in the shelter-less woods?" Sango barked, hugging her arms to her sides. "Now, come on!"

Sighing in defeat, Miroku followed after.

It had begun to snow lightly when they reached a knoll. "Just over this hill," Sango said with a smile. She rubbed her hands together briskly, the thought of a warm fire emerging in her mind, and ran up the slope.

At the top of the hill, she froze.

Even from where he stood- over fifteen yards away- Miroku could see how rigid Sango's posture had become. He could feel the distress attacking her body. Concern gripped him and he sprinted up behind her, grabbing her shoulders. "Sango!" he called into her ear.

The girl remained facing forward, her countenance horror-stricken. Miroku's stomach churned nastily, and her slowly raised his eyes to look out across the scene before him. "Oh, Buddha" he whispered hoarsely.

The road stretched out before them, rising over the bump of the hill to the village beyond. Trees flanked the road on either side, their leafless boughs joining overhead to form a long archway. From these trees, tens of bodies had been strung up and were swaying gently in the wind, their bloodied details blatant in the gray light.

Sango fell to her knees, clutching her stomach so that her knuckles turned white. Her dark eyes were wide and her body was trembling. Before she could regain control of herself, she emptied her stomach onto the new fallen snow. Miroku was too overwhelmed by emotion to comfort her. Several long and painful moments ticked by, holding the two royal children dumbstruck and repulsed. Sango made a shaky attempt to get back on her feet. Miroku, looking as if he had just been awakened from a staggering nightmare, moved to help her. They stood supporting one another in the road, staring out across the carnage.

"Houshi-sama" Sango breathed. Her voice was mangled by unfulfilled sobs. "Who would have done this- to a whole village?" She kept her eyes to the ground as she spoke, unable to endure the terrible sight any longer.

Miroku didn't have an answer. As he looked out over the victims of the beastly genocide, he couldn't describe his absolute horror. The bodies that dangled listlessly from the branches had no prejudices; they belonged to all: the men, women, the elderly, and children.

"Yare yare, what have we here?" a voice cooed mockingly. Miroku's narrowed eyes darted to a nearby tree, from where the sound had come. Before him, the tree seemed to morph. He looked on questioningly, and waited as a silver-scaled lizard-like youkai detached himself from the bark. When the youkai was free, he opened two slit-like silver eyes and observed the prince and princess with peaked interest. "Enjoying the view, are we, houshi?"

A tide wave of rage crashed over Sango's body with staggering force. She unsheathed her wakizashi and held her Hiraikotsu up threateningly. "Are you the one who did this?" she demanded heatedly.

"Me?" the youkai said, looking genuinely surprise. A forked tongue darted out from behind his lips and tasted the air. "I'm flattered that you would suggest it. I could not perform a deed of this magnitude in such a short time. The greatness of it is above me."

With a cry of rage, Sango threw herself towards the youkai. Miroku's arm whipped out and caught hers just in time, drawing her back into the safety of his grasp. "Sango, he's just trying to get you fired up!" he warned her.

Sango's head lowered, but her heaving breaths and raging pulse did not quiet. Then, in a voice so icy that the snow hitting Miroku's face seemed warm, Sango hissed, "Unhand me, peasant."

Miroku released her with a gasp of utter shock.

The princess, her face hot with unbridled fury, took a step toward the silvery youkai. "Know this, monster: my name is Kawate Sango, and I shall destroy you."

"My name is Ginmaru," the youkai purred, his tongue coming forth from behind his upturned lips. "Yare yare, I suppose it would not good to tell you again that I could accomplish no such task as this."

"Ursai!" Sango roared, pulling back her arm. With a great heave, she sent Hiraikotsu spinning toward the youkai with break-neck speed. Moving like quicksilver, Ginmaru's mid-drift morphed into the shape of an arched bow, and Hiraikotsu went past without committing any injury.

Sango and Miroku barked in surprise at this inhuman ability. 'I see,' Miroku thought, tightening his hold on his shakujou. 'He can twist and bend his body into any shape he chooses!'

Ginmaru had not intention of giving the two royal teens a chance to gape. He was already making his move, rushing toward Sango with the speed of lightening. Sango gasped and raised her wakizashi defensively. Ginmaru sniggered and as he collided with Sango, he knocked the wakizashi for her hands, sending it spinning off into the woods.

Then, Ginmaru was on top of Sango. The princess began to struggle immediately, and the two of them rolled together in the snow, the youkai's claws inflicting scratches and bruises all over Sango's flesh. Miroku stood by in horrified amazement, the wild thrashing of the two combatants keeping him from rushing to Sango's aid.

Then, Sango managed to get her knee out from under the youkai's weight, and brought it hard into his stomach. Ginmaru moaned in agony and leapt away, clutching his stomach. Sango struggled quickly to her feet, wiping a stream of blood from her chin. Both of them glared at one another for a few moments, and then Sango was moving.

Her leg whipped out and around her body, cutting the air with speed. Ginmaru responded instinctively, blocking her kick with the back of his forearm. Quickly, he brought up one of his powerful legs, directing his claw-tipped toes at Sango's stomach. The girl twisted out of the way just in time, and the steely claws ripped the skin along her forearm. She bit her lip against the pain and jumped away.

"Sango!" Miroku shouted in sudden warning as he noted something under Sango's feet. He realized in horror that Ginmaru had flattened his tail while Sango and he had been kicking out at one another and had sent his tail along the ground. Now, it was directly under Sango's feet, ready to attack the unaware girl. Without thinking, Miroku threw himself at her.

Sango, still off-balance from jumping back, didn't see Miroku until she was flying backwards, being carried from the battlefield in the warm embrace of the prince. "Houshi-sama" she breathed, uncertainty in her voice.

They hit the ground and entered a roll, Miroku arms shielding Sango from the ground. Together, they made impact with the base of a tree, knocking a large amount of snow free from the boughs and onto them.

Ginmaru watched with utmost amusement as the two broke free from the snow.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango shrieked, her cheeks bright red. "What were you thinking?! I had him!" She pointed to where she had been standing, and Miroku's eyes found the Hiraikotsu was not two feet away from her previous location.

Ginmaru chuckled at the pair. "Yare yare!" he exclaimed. "Sango-san, I hate to rain on your royal procession of unrestrained pride, but houshi-sama was saving you from one of my more underhanded attacks. If not for him, I would have plummeted my tail through your stomach."

Sango blinked in astonishment and looked over at Miroku. She was amazed to find he had already moved from his spot next to her in the pile of snow. Instead, he was crossing the road to stand in front of Ginmaru.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango called.

Miroku turned to her, his face expressionless.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded indignantly. "I'm the one who's going to kill him!"

Miroku's amethyst eyes suddenly filled with limitless sorrow. Domeki's words were finally beginning to make sense to him. He turned from her, looking around at the faces of the countless hanging forms. "Hasn't there been enough bloodshed?" Sango gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.

'"Don't let her be consumed by her want for revenge, Miroku-san.'"

Miroku turned back to her. She was astonished and somehow humbled by the sad smile on his face. "If it is bloodshed that you would wish for, Sango allow me to shed it." When he spoke, there was a hint of bitterness in his voice. Miroku took a deep breath before whispering, "Bloodshed only brings pain, no matter the circumstances." He shook his head slowly, and then placed his back to her. Driving his shakujou into the road firmly, Miroku reached to his side and brought out Kyoden's katana.

Ginmaru's eyes grew, and then a smug look crossed his face. "You intend to kill me with that katana?" he asked lightly. His eyes shifted to Miroku's, and a devilish smile split his narrow face. "It is far too good for the likes of you, houshi."

Miroku did not answer.

Ginmaru's tail flickered in mild irritation. "So you are to be my opponent now?"

"Yes."

"I was waiting here with orders to destroy the princess of this land," Ginmaru said evenly.

A small gasp came from behind Miroku, but the prince kept his face blank but for a courteous smile. "Well, would you put aside that ambition until you have killed me? I have bound myself to protect Sango hime on her quest." He brought his sword up. "And my Buddha, I will."

Ginmaru's tongue flickered out mirthfully. "Yare yare, what a troublesome pair! I suppose the decision is yours, houshi. I will acknowledge your convictions and I give you my word as a servant to my master that I will not lay so much as a finger on the princess until you destroyed."

"Arigato," Miroku muttered. He fell easily into circling, and Ginmaru moved with him. He kept his eyes trained on the youkai's, waiting for any sudden spark that would give away Ginmaru's intentions.

"I regret to tell you that I do not have much time to play around with you, houshi," Ginmaru admitted regretfully. "I promised my master that I would kill Sango-san, and I must do so. Therefore, I shall not hold back with you as I did with the girl."

'He was holding back?!' Sango gasped from her position. 'Chiksou!' He face flushed with anger and humiliation. 'He was holding back and yet I could hardly keep up with his movements! Chiksou, chiksou, chiksou!!'

A smirk darkened Miroku's face. "Good. In that case, I won't hold back either!"

Then, they began. Both at once --with a liquid grace and precision Sango had never witnessed before-- detached themselves from their circle and leant into the middle. She hadn't even finished her short gasp before their bodies met, Miroku's katana meeting Ginmaru's arm, which he had fashioned into a steel katana.

"So," Miroku said with a boyish grin, "you can change the substance of your body as well?"

"Only certain parts," Ginmaru admitted.

The two parted and leapt backwards. No sooner had their feet touched the ground than they were diving toward one another again. They were so fast that to Sango, they appeared merely as blurs. Just then, Miroku pulled up short, turning out of the headlong dive. Sango blink in surprise, then Ginmaru stopped as well, his face contorted with pain. Sango followed Miroku's eyes to where he had thrown Kyoden's katana into the road. A second look showed her that Ginmaru's tail, flattened against the road, was trapped under the blade. She saw blood beginning to bubble up around the wound.

"Yare yare," Ginmaru said softly. "I seem to have gotten myself into quite a predicament. I can't stretch my tail over ten feet, you know." He kept his tone gentlemanly, but Sango could see the rage building up behind his eyes. "But this puts you at a lose as well, houshi."

Miroku looked over at Ginmaru's face for an explanation.

"As soon as you take that sword out, I will be able to move my tail again, but if you don't take it out, you'll be weaponless."

"There," Miroku started, his face lighting up with a grin, "is where you're mistaken, Ginmaru-san." His grin broadened as he reached out and pulled his shakujou out of the road. "After all, I can fight with this shakujou just as easily as I can with that sword."

"Ah," Ginmaru breathed, smiling. "Well then, I guess it's too early to call it quits then."

"Indeed," Miroku said.

Ichimu